Scout.com > Toronto John Gibbons: Winter Meetings Transcript Pt.1 Story URL: http://bluejays.scout.com/2/478034.html Insidethedome.com Staff InsideTheDome.com Dec 13, 2005 Blue Jays manager John Gibbons talked with reporters in Dallas last Tuesday during the winter meetings. We will release the transcript of his interview in four segments this week. In this exclusive feature only from Insidethedome.com, find out exactly what Gibbons had to say about his club heading into the 2006 season. How you see A.J. fitting into this scheme for you guys? John Gibbons: He's a big sign, no question. Coming into the off-season, we targeted, (B.J.) Ryan, Burnett, and Brian Giles out there with San Diego. Getting two out of three of them is huge for us. There's no question they both have big contracts, eye-opening contracts, and the past few years we haven't been able to lure free agents to Toronto by guaranteeing them post season, so you've got to pay top dollar. It definitely strengthened us, no question about it. Now we need to address our offense a little bit. Maybe we'll be taken a little more seriously. Q. Burnett obviously has all the physical tools but his track record is kind of spotty. What makes you think he's really ready to play now? John Gibbons: He's got that connection with Arnsberg. Arnie is convinced he can help him get over the top. I've seen a lot being mentioned where he's basically been a .500 pitcher his whole career. The stuff is there. We feel like he's just coming into his prime and he's on the verge of exploding and hopefully that's what we get. Anytime you got an arm like that and everything clicks at once, you could be pretty good. Anytime we run him out there you know we got a chance to win the game. That's all anybody can ask for. Q. What has Arnsberg told you about him? John Gibbons: First of all, he's got a great relationship with the kid. He knows him, and knows physically how he works. The big thing is Arnie can help A.J. now that he's coming into a new environment. A.J. knows the pitching coach. That's a big thing. Now, we got to go out and score some other guys. I reviewed last year and I thought for the most part our pitching was solid all year. Score a few more runs and guys have a few more wins. I think that is still an area that needs to be addressed. If we do that, I think we're a pretty tough club. Q. Do you think there's stuff in the works right now to use the excess pitching to beef up the hitting? John Gibbons: Yeah. J.P., he's working pretty hard. He's talking to a number of teams and looking at different options. We hope we can do something. We've got some pretty good chips. Q. Do you think there's anyone in your mind other than Doc, and the two new guys, that you would say "we need too keep this guy in order to make our run"? John Gibbons: I don't know if I'd tell you who that is but there's a few guys like that. Chacin did a nice job for us. He's a lefty. You wouldn't want to give that up. You've got McGowan out there on the verge of doing something big. There's a few guys. Sometimes you have to give things up to improve in different areas, but we think there are some expendable guys that could bring us some bats that we need. Q. John, you said now you might be taken a little bit more seriously. With signings like these, people are going to take you seriously. Do you think there will also be little more heat on you? John Gibbons: That's right. That's a good thing. You want the pressure to have to perform. Personally, I didn't take the job just to say I managed in the big leagues. I wanted to manage in the big leagues for a winning team. Personally, there was added pressure to perform better, and get the most out of the team. I like that. As far as the team, on paper, yeah we're better but we still got to go out and execute it. I think we gained some confidence, especially some of the young guys last year. It's going to make a big difference. No question about that. Q. The Yankees and the Red Sox sort are a broken record for years; first, second, first, second. Do you feel now with the moves that you made that you guys will sort of break that stranglehold? John Gibbons: You never know. We hope so. Every year they're going to be strong. They're going to make the moves that they need to. That's why they're always near the top. The Red Sox went out and got Beckett so they're doing some things. The Yankees are going to do some things. You can talk about it all you want. Until you actually make a move on those teams, the talk is cheap. We'll see. We just don't want to be a competitive team; we want to be a winning team. Q. When you look at your offense right now, how do you feel about it in terms of what you have? Teams have certain types of things they look for, power. What is the need other than just to say hitters? John Gibbons: I think we need to add another bonafide run-producer. There were games last year that if we scored a run or two extra here and there, it would have made a huge difference. You never really know how the game is going to play out. You can only guess but I believe adding to the lineup could be good. We're also banking on a young guy like an Adams. We still don't know what's going to happen with where he fits. If he's one of our everyday guys, you got to figure they're going to be better. Counting a lot on Vernon Wells having a good year. Hopefully Koskie will be injury free. There's no question that's an area we need to address a little bit. Q. Your rotation has an interesting balance especially now your first four guys. You've got Halladay, Burnett, Lilly and Chacin? John Gibbons: And Towers. Part II of IV will be published on Wednesday. Copyright © Scout.com and InsideTheDome.com